In the new issue of Regulation, economist Pierre Lemieux argues that the recent oil price decline is at least partly the result of increased supply from the extraction of shale oil. The increased supply allows the economy to produce more goods, which benefits some people, if not all of them. Thus, contrary to some commentary in the press, cheaper oil prices cannot harm the economy as a whole.

Two long wars, chronic deficits, the financial crisis, the costly drug war, the growth of executive power under Presidents Bush and Obama, and the revelations about NSA abuses, have given rise to a growing libertarian movement in our country – with a greater focus on individual liberty and less government power. David Boaz’s newly released The Libertarian Mind is a comprehensive guide to the history, philosophy, and growth of the libertarian movement, with incisive analyses of today’s most pressing issues and policies.

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Congress Rediscovers the Constitution

If the new Congress to be sworn in on Wednesday is the Tea Party’s cardinal achievement so far, its most symbolic achievement will unfold the next day, when the first order of business in the House will be a reading, aloud, of the Constitution – by all accounts, for the first time in the nation’s history. I discuss this issue more fully in this morning’s Wall Street Journal. Let me add simply this:

Symbols are important. When the House votes next week to rescind ObamaCare, as it is expected to do, that vote will be symbolic, because no one expects the Senate to uphold the vote, nor the president, if it did, to do anything but veto it. But the new House, responding to the voters who sent them to Washington, will have thrown down the gauntlet, and the real work will then begin.

Restoring limited constitutional government is a tall order, to be sure, and it cannot happen in a day. But we didn’t get into this mess in a day, either. As we saw a generation ago in Eastern Europe, and are now starting to see in Western Europe, the road out of the ubiquitous state is difficult, with fits and starts along the way. But the alternative is simply unacceptable, because unconstitutional. We’re fortunate that we’re not in as deeply as many others, and fortunate too that we have a Constitution to serve as our touchstone. Wednesday, with the oath “to support and defend the Constitution,” will be a start. Thursday’s reading will dramatically set the stage for the debate that follows. The hard work then begins.